


Christmas Traditions

by AccioFanfic



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Difference, Aged-Up Character(s), Christmas Fluff, College Student Peter, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, My First Fanfic, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, The Barest Hint of Smut, infinity war? never heard of it, peter is 20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:02:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioFanfic/pseuds/AccioFanfic
Summary: Peter and Ned go to work in ESU's Makerspace. Tony gets a present. Our lovebirds decorate a tree and endeavor to start one of their own Christmas traditions.





	Christmas Traditions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stress_and_Starker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stress_and_Starker/gifts).



> Day 1 of askmyknife's 12 Days of Christmas (ft. Starker) - Christmas Tree Decorating
> 
> Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Season's Greetings! There's a first time for everything, and this so happens to be my entrance into the wonderful world of writing fanfic. This is dedicated to my very good friend, Stress_And_Starker. Without her, I never would have worked up the nerve to post this in the first place.

“Dude, this is so cool! Mr. Stark is gonna freak!” Ned was peering over his best friend’s shoulder, gripping his sweater-clad upper arms and shaking him excitedly.

“You really think so?” Peter asked, turning his head to look at the other boy. He wore an anxious expression on his face, eyebrows furrowed with his lower lip between his teeth. “What if he… I don’t know, what if he thinks it’s lame? Or whatever?”

“What do you mean? You don’t think these are freaking awesome?”

“No, no. I do. But he’s Tony Stark. You know? Like, he already has everything he could ever want.”

“Well, duh. He’s got you.”

“Oh, my gosh, Ned!” Peter shoved playfully at his friend, his cheeks immediately heating at the comment. All evidence of his previous anxiety was gone. “Shut up, man. You’re making me blush.”

“What can I say? I stan one Spider-Man.”

Peter’s eyes widened at that and he hurriedly clamped a hand over Ned’s mouth. “Dude!” It was a miracle the other boy hadn’t managed to slip up and reveal his superhero identity yet.

“Sorry.” Ned offered, the word muffled against Peter’s palm.

Peter withdrew with a huff, giving Ned a look that clearly said, ‘could you not?’ They were currently alone in ESU’s Makerspace, but students filtered in and out at random intervals. The room was directly off the Health Sciences library and hosted a total of eight 3d printers and a variety of workstations. While Peter’s projects were fairly small in size, their level of detail and infill meant that the operation as a whole would take several hours.

“I still don’t get why we couldn’t have done this back at the Tower. His printers are way more sophisticated! This is gonna take all day.”

“Yeah, right. The man can sniff out a lab project from a mile away. He’s like a bloodhound, but for technology. It would have been impossible to do these without him finding out.”

“You’re a really good boyfriend, Peter.”

“You’re my best friend. You’re biased.”

“No, I mean it. Surprising him with these, it’s perfect. He’s gonna love them.”

Peter smiled at that, “You know what? You’re the best guy in the chair I could ever ask for.”

“Yeah, I kinda am, aren’t I?”

* * *

It was early in the evening by the time Peter made it home. We was still bundled up for the bitter New York weather when he walked into the penthouse, pulling off his beanie with a gloved hand and revealing a head of riotous hat hair. “Tony, I’m back!”

The man in question rounded the corner, a steaming mug in each hand and a charming smile on his face. “Look what the spider dragged in!” He nodded towards the package under Peter’s arm, “Have you been Christmas shopping on Amazon again?”

Peter grinned, a nervous blush coloring his cheeks. “No, not exactly.” He stepped forward to peck Tony on the lips while eagerly intercepting the warm beverage. “This is actually for you.”

They moved into the living room, which appeared as usual save the fire crackling in the grate, a cinnamon broom across the mantle, and a bare Christmas tree in a far corner. Peter placed the mug and cardboard box on the coffee table and finished removing his outerwear. “Okay, so,” he started, tossing his coat over the back of a chair, “I know that celebrating Christmas is… sort of new for you? That it wasn’t really a big thing while you were growing up, and--”

“And I didn’t have anyone of my own to celebrate with once I was older. Which has changed, thanks to you.”

“Yes,” Peter replied, a demure smile tilting up the corners of his lips. He bridged the gap between him and Tony, smoothing his palms down the front of the man’s faded Metallica t-shirt. “I love Christmas, because it’s about giving and spreading happiness, being with the ones you love. Families have Christmas traditions, like decorating the tree, snowballs fights, baking cookies. I want that for us, too.”

“Pete, whatever you want, honey, you got it.”

Instead of replying, Peter brushed his lips against Tony’s again before pulling away. “I figured we’d start small, which is why I made you these.” He folded his arms, his nerves apparent, and gave Tony the go ahead to open the package.

Tony raised a dark eyebrow and approached the coffee table, picking up the box and moving to sit in the chair Peter dumped his coat on. Peter couldn’t stop from biting his nail as he watched Tony open the box and look inside. The man was silent for several seconds, which only served to double Peter’s anxiety. Finally, Tony swallowed and cleared his throat, brown eyes raising to land on Peter once more. “You… you, ah, said you made these?” His expression was unreadable and, perhaps Peter was imagining it, but his eyes appeared somewhat watery.

“Ned helped, but yeah. What do you, um, think? About them?”

“What do I think? They’re incredible!” A blinding smile took over Tony’s face. “Thank you, Pete.” He began removing the items from the box, one by one. It was filled to the brim with hand painted 3d printed ornaments. It seemed Peter’s time spent painting D&D miniatures with Ned had come in handy, because they actually looked half decent. Tony lined them up along the edge of the table.

There was an Iron Man helmet in its signature red and gold; a ball of intricate webbing with a spider on the side; a bright orange replica of an Audi R8; an MIT logo; a pair sunglasses with working hinges; a bell with the AC/DC logo; an arrangement of gears; a shining silver USS Enterprise; and last, but certainly not least, a mini reproduction of Dum-E brandishing a fire extinguisher.

“That’s Dum-E. I can’t believe you made Dum-E.” Tony was holding the ornament up by a loop of gold string. “He’s got the fire extinguisher and everything.”

Peter was at Tony’s side in a second, kneeling on the carpet to look over the ornament with him. “I know! That one is my favorite. Ned designed the model from scratch.” He rested his chin on the arm of the chair and peered up at Tony through his lashes while he placed a kiss on the top of Peter’s head. “I even bought lights. They’re in my backpack. We could start decorating now.”

“I don’t know,” Tony replied, sounding unsure, which earned a slightly defeated sigh from Peter. “Don’t you need Christmas music for that? FRIDAY, think you can spin us up some holiday classics?”

“Of course, Boss,” the AI answered, and a rendition of Santa Baby started to play.

Peter was on his feet lightning fast, grinning wide, barely containing an excited squeal. “I’ll go get them now!”

Soon, he and Tony were stringing lights around the tree, Peter fussing over the placement to ensure the rows were evenly spaced. “Do you think the gap’s too big here?”

“Looks fine to me, Pete.”

“You know, May has, like, a hundred ornaments. Stuff I made as a kid, and she buys more every year. Eventually, she’s gonna need two trees.”

“Two trees? I can buy her another.”

“Oh, no. There’s barely enough room in the apartment for the one she has.”

“I can buy her a bigger apartment.”

“Tony, stop,” Peter said with a laugh, though the offer warmed him from the inside out. “Let’s hang the ornaments now.”

“Just saying, I haven’t gotten her anything for Christmas yet.”

Peter shook his head as he rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment. He picked up the Dum-E ornament and headed for the tree, talking to the decoration as if it really was the robot. “Hey, buddy, you go up top because you’re the best.”

“But what about Iron Man?” Tony asked, lifting the helmet.

“I think I see some room on the back of the tree.”

“Well, I never!” Tony retorted, clutching his chest in mock outrage.

* * *

Some time later, Peter sat on the plush rug in front of the dying fire with his head on Tony’s shoulder and his back pressed against the man’s firm chest, his almost empty mug of hot chocolate clutched in his hands. He studied the sparsely decorated tree with a frown. “I guess we’ll need to get some more ornaments this week.”

Tony dropped his head to kiss along the column of Peter’s delicate neck, the rough stubble of his beard contrasting with his soft lips against his sensitive skin. “Absolutely not,” he began, warm breath sending a delightful shiver down Peter’s spine, “our tree is wonderful, just the way it is.”

“There’s only nine ornaments! And we don’t even have a star.”

“Fine, we’ll get a star. But I stand firm on the ornaments. We’ll get some more after Christmas.”

“Oh, they’ll be on sale!”

“Yes, because that was my main concern. Listen, honey. The tree is perfect, couldn’t be any better.” His hold around Peter’s midsection tightened and he teasingly grazed his teeth at the slope where the boy’s neck met his shoulder. “Just like you.”

“You really mean that?” Peter timidly inquired as he turned to face the older man.

“You know I do, baby.”

There was something magical about that moment, in a way that only the Christmas season could invoke. The room smelled of cinnamon, pine, and burning wood, Silver Bells by Bing Crosby played over the speakers, and the changing lights on the Christmas tree danced across Tony’s face.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Peter threw his arms around Tony’s neck and pulled him in for a heated kiss, climbing into his lap, determined to get as close to the man as possible. “I love you so much, Tony,” he whispered against his lips.

“Love you too, Pete.”

Tony’s hands were hotter than any fire as they slipped under Peter’s thick sweater and smoothed up his bare sides. Peter’s pink mouth dropped open and his Christmas sock covered toes curled in response, a soft noise of pleasure leaving him. “You wanna go to bed?” The question was meant to be innocent, but the breathy quality of Peter’s voice did little to hide his eagerness.

“Not so fast, sweetheart. Weren’t you the one going on about us making our own, ah, Christmas traditions? Think sex by the fire after decorating the tree qualifies?”

“Oh, my god. Definitely.” Peter all but moaned out, licking his lips as he rocked down onto Tony’s lap, delighting in the feel of his lover’s hardening length against the curve of his ass.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are appreciated, as I'd love to hear what you think.


End file.
